Glossary
Airbrush – To spray paint over the plush using compressed air.
Alpaca Plush – Plush made from the very soft wool of a South American mammal related to the Llama.
Anniversary Bear – A teddy bear made by a long established manufacturer to mark an important date.
Artificial Silk Plush – Plush made from reconstituted wood pulp or other form of cellulose, used to imitate mohair plush.
Artist Bear – A bear designed and made by an individual, sometimes with the help of others, and finished by hand.
Bat Wing Nose – A distinctive type of stitching made to resemble bat wings.
Boot Button Eyes – Rounds made from compressed wood pulp with metal loops on back, conceived as shoe fasteners, they were adopted by the toy industry to be used as eyes.
Burlap – Coarse, heavy fabric woven from jute or hemp, used for some early stuffed toys. Also knows as hessian.
Celluloid – An artificial material produced from pyroxylin, a type of cellulose, and camphor.
Clipped Mohair – Mohair cut short, usually on the muzzle or the tops of the feet.
Cotter Pin – A split pin used to secure disc joints together.
Cotton Plush – Plush made from cotton, an inexpensive alternative to mohair plush popular during and immediately after World War II.
Cotton Waste/Cotton Sub – See Substitute.
Disc Joints – Wooden or cardboard discs placed between the limbs and torso and fixed by a cotter pin. Disc joints allow smooth and full movement of the limbs.
Distressed Mohair – Mohair plush made to look antique, particularly popular among bear artists and manufacturers producing replicas.
Dual Plush – Colored plush that is tipped with a second, contrasting color.
Eccentric Wheels – Wheels with a non-central axle that turn unevenly, toys with eccentric wheels seem to waddle or lumber.
Excelsior – See Wood Wool.
Felt – Soft fabric formed from matted wool fibers that have been worked together using steam, heat and pressure.
Foot Pads – The bottom of the feet, usually made of felt or rexine, but also leather.
Googly Eyes or Goo Goo Eyes – Large, round plastic or glass eyes with pupils that move.
Growler – Internal voice box that produces a growl or roar when the toy is tilted.
Hug – The collective noun for teddy bears.
Hump – The round protuberance across the shoulders of certain bears, particularly the grizzly.
Inset Muzzle – A muzzle made of a separate piece of material sewn into the face.
Jointed Bear – Bears with fully movable arms, legs and head.
Kapok – Very light and silky fiber from the seed pods of tropical trees used for stuffing.
Latex – A natural material used to produce rubber.
Limited Edition – Teddy bears produced in limited quantities, making them more collectible and valuable.
Mohair – Long, soft silky hair of the Angora goat.
Mohair Plush – Plush made from mohair blended with sheep’s wool or cotton. Originally it was made from the fleece of a Turkish Angora goat.
Muzzle – A protruding snout.
Paw Pads – The pads at the end of the arms of a teddy bear.
Plush – Fabric with long, open pile that is softer than velvet.
Pull Cord Voice – Internal voice box activated by pull cord.
Replica – A direct copy of an antique teddy bear, produced by the original manufacturer, often using old factory patterns and usually in a limited number.
Rexine – A shiny leather cloth or oilskin used for paw pads after World War II.
Rod Bear – A type of bear introduced by Steiff with metal rodded joints that run through the body.
Rod Jointing – An internal jointing system that uses a series of rods running through the body.
Sealing Wax – The wax used to seal letters, used in the early 20th century to make realistically molded noses for teddy bears.
Squeaker – Internal voice box that emits a squeak when the toy is squeezed.
Stick Bear – A small, inexpensive type of bear, often unjointed, made in vast quantities in the U.S.
String Joints – Early type of jointing system where the limbs and the head are joined to the torso by string.
Substitute/Sub-Waste – Waste left over from the manufacture of cotton in factories, introduced as a stuffing mainly for British teddy bears after World War I when other materials became scarce.
Swing Tag – A paper identification tag attached to a bear and printed with the manufacturer’s details.
Tipped – See Dual Plush.
Ultrasuede – A synthetic suede looking material introduced in the U.S. and used for paw pads.
Voice Box – Internal mechanical device used to produce a sound and activated by squeezing or tipping a toy or tugging its pull cord.
Webbed Clawed Stitching – Claw stitching used particularly by Merrythought and Farnell, which resembles webbing.
Wood Wool – Long, thin wood shavings used for stuffing toys, also known as excelsior.
Yes/No – A type of teddy bear produced by Schuco. By moving the tail, the head can be turned up or down, left or right.
Zotty Bear – A long haired teddy bear with an open mouth introduced by Steiff, but later copied by other manufacturers.
